Compania Minera del Sur S.A. (COMSUR) III

completed

SUMMARY OF PROJECT INFORMATION (SPI)Project Name Bolivia - Puquio Norte Gold ProjectRegion Latin America & CaribbeanSector Mining & ExtractiveProject No. 004799Projected Board Date July 14, 1995Company Name Compania Minera del Sur (COMSUR)Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders COMSUR is a subsidiary of Minera S.A., which is 60% owned by Andean Resources, 33.3% by RTZ, 6% by IFC, and 0.7% by other shareholders.Project Cost includingproposed IFC investment $22 million (estimated) of which IFC will provide an "A" loan of $7.5 million, a "B" loan of $5.0 million, and an income-participating loan of $0.8 million.Location of project andDescription of site The project is located in a sparsely populated area of the lowlands region of the Nuflo de Chavez province in eastern Bolivia.Description of Company and Purpose of Project Compañia Minera de Sur (COMSUR), a medium-sized poly-metallic mining company in Bolivia and a current IFC client, has requested IFC''s support to finance the development of a gold mine at Puquio Norte. The project consists of the development of a small open pit mine and related facilities for the agitation leaching of ores from the mine. The project will process about 500,000 tonnes per annum of ore, yielding about 33,000 ounces per annum of gold. This will be COMSUR''s first gold mining project and will reduce the Company''s dependence on its traditional revenue sources of zinc/lead/silver. An SPI was prepared for this project and submitted to the Public Information Center (PIC) in November 1994. However, project scope was subsequently increased, which had the effect of changing the Environmental Category from "B" to "A". Accordingly, this SPI revises and updates the November 1994 SPI for this project.Environmental Categories and Issues This is a category A project according to IFC''s environmental review procedure Environmental issues associated with this project include impacts on surface and ground water, land disturbance, and social impacts. The sponsor has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the project and has engaged in the necessary public consultations. This EA demonstrates that the open pit, process facilities, waste rock piles and tailings dam will be operated so that there will be no impacts to surface and ground water. Land disturbance will be minimal and the project will include a comprehensive land restoration program upon closure. The EA indicates that the project''s social impacts are positive including the provision of electricity to the adjacent community of San Ramon. The EA is available at the World Bank''s Public Information Center (PIC).Date SPI sent to PIC Original: November 21, 1994 Revised: June 16, 1995For Additional Information contact: Corporate Relations Unit Telephone: (202) 473-3800Fax: (202) 676-0365Environmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).